On Dec. 20, the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Choirs had their winter concert in the Gloria Logan Auditorium at Salem High School at entitled “A Winter’s Song.”

The show opened with Park Singers, the female beginner’s choir, who performed “Da Pacem Domine,” composed by Melchior Franck under the direction of Catherine DePentu, and “Celebration of Light,” composed by Joseph Martin, under the direction of Jennifer Neumann. “Da Pacem Domine” was sung beautifully. Both soprano and alto parts had created a round, which means the sopranos would start the phrase and the altos would begin the same phrase one measure after them. This creates an interesting effect. “Celebration of Light” featured Plymouth sophomore Weston Welch on violin and Jonathan Lunneberg on tambourine.

Parksmen, the male beginner’s choir, sang three songs under the direction of Neumann, “Hine Ma Tov,” a Hebrew folk song arranged by Lon Beery which featured a cello solo by Canton senior Zachary Carey, “The Twelve Days After Christmas” composed by Frederick Silver, and “African Alleluia,” a Kenyan folk melody arranged by Benjamin Harlan. “The Twelve Days After Christmas” was a crowd favorite as it was a funny spin off of the well known “Twelve Days of Christmas” where all the gifts the true love sent were returned or destroyed.

Allegro!, the intermediate female choir, was next with “The Water is Wide,” arranged by Audrey Snyder, “The Snow Carol,” a German carol also arranged by Snyder, and the classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” arranged by Carnie and Wendy Wilson. The ladies of Allegro! gave off a beautiful effect with “The Water is Wide” where the dynamics made the sound of the vocals compare to the sound of waves.

The show choir Encore!, under the direction of Jonathan Lunneberg, performed choral highlights from the movie “Enchanted,” composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz and arranged by Alan Billingsley, which included a pitch perfect solo by Plymouth senior Allison Range. The ensemble’s performance mirrored the same feeling as watching the film itself. Encore! also sang “Snow,” arranged by Mark Brymer, with lovely solos by Canton senior Jonah Stephens and Salem freshman Corinne Marsh and “An Irving Berlin Christmas.” arranged by Roger Emerson. All choreography was done by Canton junior Sydney Bramlett, Plymouth senior Ellie Simon and Plymouth senior Katherine Greene. “We all get together to see what’s best and get some suggestions from as classmates too,” said Greene.

Dulcissima, the intermediate SSAA female choir, powerfully performed “Keep your Lamps,” arranged by Andre Thomas, and “Balts sniedziņš snieg uz skujiņām,” a Latvian carol composed by Andrejs Jansons, under the direction of Lunneberg. Neumann directed “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” an old French tune arranged by Wendy Stevens. “Balts sniedziņš snieg uz skujiņām” translates to “a gentle snow is on the ground.” Amber Mero, Salem sophomore and member of Dulcissima, said, “I think that Dulcissima exceeded our expectations. We all worried about the Latvian song but all of the songs went very smoothly. I am very proud of Dulcissima.”

Madrigal Singers, the advanced female choir, performed “The Darkest Midnight in December,” composed by Stephen Main, “Breath of Winter,” composed by James Austin, and “The Winter’s Night,” composed by Nicholas Meyers, all under the direction of Neumann. “The Winter’s Night” was sung a capella with tight, beautiful harmonies.

Also under the direction of Neumann, Chamber Choir, the advanced male choir, sang “Goin’ to Bethlehem,” composed by Jay Althouse, with a solo by Salem freshman Noah Samuels, “O Tannenbaum,” the famous German carol arranged by Robert Shaw, featured Salem senior Justin Muse as the soloist, and “Tiny King,” composed by Joyce Eilers. Chamber sang “Goin’ to Bethlehem” a capella. The song had awesome harmonies and Chamber pulled it off very well.

Madrigals and Chamber join together to make Festival Singers which sang “The Sledge Bells,” lyrics by Edgar Allen Poe and arranged by Robertson, as well as “We Wish You the Merriest,” composed by Les Brown. Festival Singers captivated the audience from the first note and continued to do so with incredible dynamics and harmonies. Jodi Wise, Canton senior and member of Madrigal Singers, said these two songs were her favorite because she loves singing with Chamber. “I love the way the harmony fills the air,” said Wise. “I also remember how complex the songs seemed when I first laid my eyes on all the notes and lyrics.”

As a tradition at every holiday concert, Neumann invites choir alumni to join the entire choir program on stage to sing “Carol of the Bells,” arranged by Mykola Leontovich and Peter Wilhouskey. “I always love singing “Carol of the Bells” with the choirs and alumni, even though it’s bittersweet for me,” Joshua Raiford, Canton senior and member of Chamber choir, said. “I think of how fast time is passing and how this is my last year, and just how life keeps moving forward, but it’s a great eye opening experience every year.”